Gabe Ruediger vs. Paul Taylor targeted for UFC 126 in Las Vegas

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the pending matchup with sources close to the event. While the fighters verbally have agreed to the matchup, bout agreements have yet to be signed.

UFC 126 takes place Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and is expected to feature a middleweight title bout between champ Anderson Silva and challenger Vitor Belfort.

A report on MMAWeekly.com first detailed the likelihood of Taylor vs. Ruediger, though it placed the meeting at UFC 127, which takes place Feb. 27 at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

U.K. native Taylor is fresh off a barnburner battle with Sam Stout at this past month’s UFC 121 event. Although Taylor threw the kitchen sink at Stout and frequently connected with crisp standup work, two judges gave the edge to the Canadian. It was Taylor’s first engagement as a lightweight after serving the bulk of his MMA career at welterweight It also was his first fight in almost a year after medical issues forced him to withdraw from UFC 112 and The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale (John Gunderson was his scheduled opponent on both occasions).

While Taylor’s octagon record stands at a meager 3-5, his aggressive style has three times won him “Fight of the Night” honors. Still, this could be his last chance to pull out a “W” with the promotion.

Ruediger, meanwhile, is back on the books after a groin injury forced him to withdraw from a meeting with Taylor’s teammate, Paul Kelly, at UFC 123 earlier this month.

Prior to that, the much-maligned veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 5″ met disappointment when he returned to the octagon after a three-plus year absence from the UFC. In a short-notice fight, he took on “TUF 5″ rival Joe Lauzon and was tapped out in a little more than two minutes. The setback snapped a six-fight win streak in regional competition.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

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